Exploiting Dynamic Programming in Optimizing Reliability-Centered Maintenance: Case Study of Medium-Sized Aluminum Manufacturing Plant

Abstract

Maintenance Scheduling (MS) is one of the most persistent issues that might arise in a manufacturing facility. It is crucial to do routine maintenance on machinery in order to avoid unplanned breakdowns. This type of failure could cause costly manufacturing process interruptions. Numerous strategies have been developed in an effort to deal with MS. But because each system has specific requirements and limitations, this is a particularly challenging problem. The scheduling of maintenance for machine units at a manufacturing facility that produces aluminum in moderate amounts is explored in this study using a dynamic programming approach. The Maintenance Scheduling model is put into practice using a Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) strategy after an investigation of the architecture and infrastructure of the plant. By maintaining machines at acceptable dependability values and minimizing maintenance costs, this method is created to optimize the maintenance schedule. Here, factors like reliability and failure rate that affect the MS problem are discussed and investigated. Applying the model to a situation that represents the aluminum manufacturing allows it to be tested in a variety of different circumstances. The results of applying the model to the test cases are given, followed by a discussion of the results. The results obtained are reasonable and show that the dynamic programming strategy is a successful way to fix the MS issue that the manufacturing plant's machines are experiencing. © 2022 Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved.